Varekai

Cirque du Soleil`s Varekai will be at the WFCU Centre from Jan. 23 until Jan. 26 for seven shows. For tickets or more information check out wfcu-centre.com. Call 1-866-625-4586.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Star reporter and fitness columnist Kelly Steele was recently invited to Montreal to work out with Cirque du Soleil performers.

When he was a boy in Windsor, Michael Ocampo never dreamed of working in a travelling circus, but now his life pretty much fits into a couple of suitcases.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 21, I’m getting quite used to it,” he said. “I’m actually quite good at living out of two suitcases. At home I barely have anything in my closets, all I need fits in two suitcases. You get pretty used to living like that.”

Ocampo, 41, is a head coach with Cirque du Soleil. He grew up in Windsor and graduated from Catholic Central high school. Ten years ago he changed his name from Rosenberger to Ocampo, his mother’s maiden name, and now lives in Hatley, Que.

This week he was on break after 17 weeks on the road, then will be taking over as head coach for the Cirque’s Varekai show after its stop in Windsor.

Varekai, at the WFCU Centre from Jan. 23-26, is billed as the story of a young man who is “parachuted into the shadows of a magical forest, a kaleidoscopic world populated by fantastical creatures.”

After Windsor, the show heads to Hamilton and back to Joe Louis Arena in Detroit from Feb. 5 – 9.

Ocampo is looking forward to joining Varekai and working with his partner, Michael Veilleux, the company`s manager. The pair met in 1998, married in 2004 and have always tried to work on the same show.

“Some people on tour are couples,” he said. “But there are others who travel with their spouses and some have a wife or husband and kids at home, which can be very tough.”

That includes Varekia’s Russian swing flyer Pavel Korshunov. He’s made his marriage work by having his wife accompany him on tour for the past four years. Korshunov, 24, loves performing but admits the lifestyle can be draining on a marriage.

“I like it but not as much as I used to,” Korshunov said. “The arena tours are tough. We are travelling constantly and we don’t stay in many places for more than a few weeks. I really want to start staying in one place and starting a life. But raising a family and having them stay in a hotel room isn’t the life for them.”

While on tour, Korshunov spends his days training and preparing for the next show. At the end of the day, it’s back to the hotel room where his wife is waiting for him to come home safely.

“But she also knows I’m not the type to have a typical office job. This is what I do, this is what I love and she accepts that. But it’s tough never having a true place to call home.”

Varekai’s aerial hoop performer Katja Kortstrom, 32, agrees. Kortstrom has been with Cirque for two and a half years and is single because life on tour makes it impossible or her to have a relationship. Typically, Cirque travels for 10 weeks and then the cast has two weeks off. But, as Kortstrom points out, the 10 weeks on the road means 10 cities, 10 different hotels and a tight training schedule.

“It isn’t easy to have a social life,” she said. ” It definitely is a different lifestyle and it can be lonely. But this is what I love doing, this is all I know. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

When he was 21, Ocampo joined Cirque’s Alegria show as a tumbler and then Cirque’s Saltimbanco show as a Russian swing flyer and Chinese pole artist.

“Being part of Cirque wasn’t something I aspired to,” Ocampo said. “A Windsor tumbler, Justin Osbourne, told me he was auditioning and to come to Montreal and audition. I did and was called by Cirque for a spot and have been involved ever since.”

As a young gymnast, Ocampo started working with Windsor gymnastic coach Carey Vigneux and joined the Canadian National team, competing in two World Championship for power tumbling as well as World Cup championships.

“I owe everything I am today to Carey,” Ocampo said. “The reason I made it to Cirque and am now a coach is because of Carey. He is the reason I am what I am.”

After 10 years of performing, Ocampo needed a change. He was 32 years old, his ankles hurt from the repeated pounding of landing hard jumps and he had lower back problems. He started coaching with Quidam, then Saltimbanco and finally ended up with Dralion.

“I can’t necessarily say I miss the performing, ” he said. “But my body was telling me it was time to stop. I do miss the jumping, flipping and doing some of the acrobatics. I really miss the sound of 2,500 people applauding – that is an amazing sound.”

But being a coach can sometimes be more stressful than performing.

“As a coach during a show you have no control,” he said. “It’s up to the artists to do what I’ve coached them to do. Sometimes that is really, really stressful because all I can do is watch. But I find it very rewarding to coach people, to watch someone grow as an athlete. I do love that.”

Ocampo has no plans of leaving Cirque anytime soon.

“My entire adult life has been with Cirque and it’s been wonderful,” he said. “I’m now going to be back working with my partner and I can’t imagine it getting any better.”

Kelly Steele (back ) watches as artist Pavel Korshunov (R ) shows her his work out at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Kelly Steele (back ) watches as artist Pavel Korshunov (L facing ) shows her his work out at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Starr)

Kelly Steele (C ) laughs as she starts her warm up with artist Katja Kortstrom (R ) while trainer Misha Galkin looks on at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

A head sits in the wardrobe room at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Tanya Jacobs (L ), head of wardrobe looks through some of the masks as reporter Kelly Steele interviews her at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Tanya Jacobs, head of wardrobe poses inside the room used for repairs at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Tanya Jacobs, head of wardrobe poses inside the room used for repairs at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Tanya Jacobs, head of wardrobe poses with some of the costumes on a rack at The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Repairs are made on costumes at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Tanya Jacobs (R ) head of wardrobe talks with a fellow employee in her wardrobe room at the Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Wigs waiting to be washed in the wardrobe room at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Repairs are made on costumes at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

A costume is laid out for repair at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Coloured spools of thread lined up in case of repairs needed for costumes in the wardrobe department at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Kelly Steele (R ) works out with Misha Galkin while at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Artists stretch prior to The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai show in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Artists relax prior to The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai show in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Artists stretch and relax backstage prior to The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai show in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

A technician walks backstage at The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Artists train prior to The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai show in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

Kelly Steele poses at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi/For The Windsor Star)

A head sits in the wardrobe room at the The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi / For The Windsor Star)

Rodrigue Proteau adjusts his clown costume as he prepares for The Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, in Montreal, December 27, 2013. (Christinne Muschi / For The Windsor Star)

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